Beauty and the Beast (Demon Tales 1) (8 page)

Oh, why the fuck do you care? She’s the
daughter of the bitch who cursed you!

Brigg took a deep breath leaned back in the
chair. Sam watched him for a moment before he leaned forward and
spoke. “Is she your mate?” Sam cut to the chase.

Brigg stiffened. He didn’t want to talk
about this, so he scowled at Sam and hoped that he would drop the
subject.

Sam sighed and raised a mocking brow. “It
looks that way to me, Brigg. You can’t even stand me talking to
her. She wasn’t allowed to re-bandage my wound. And from what Torc
has told me, you are normally a relaxed demon.” Sam gave a rueful
smile, “You don’t seem relaxed right now.”

Brigg lifted his glass and drank. He eyed
the Ram over the glass and wondered how he was supposed to answer
that. He was being obvious, and Sam was right, he couldn’t stand
for her to talk to another male, let alone touch.

He didn’t want a human female to be his
mate. He hadn’t even wanted one at all. His life had been totally
screwed up since his curse struck, and this just added to it. But
he suspected she was his true mate, and Brigg wasn’t quite sure
what to do about it.

“I think so,” he admitted.

Sam let out a low whistle and blew out a
fierce curse. “What are you going to do about it?”

Brigg laughed, a sound that held no humour.
He shrugged and blew out a curse. “Nothing. She is human.”

Sam watched him carefully, and Brigg hated
the sympathy that sat in the other demon’s eyes. Sympathy burned,
it felt like mocking, and Brigg never wanted to see that emotion in
anyone’s eyes again—especially not for him. To see it reminded him
of the worst times in his life. His fathers’ death—people had
looked at him with sympathy then. When the curse had taken effect,
everyone had stared at him with horror and…sympathy. And now—from a
demon who once would have been an equal, fucking burned Brigg to
the bone.

“Don’t look at me like that!” he roared.
Brigg got up and stalked to the window and stared at the open
fields.

Sam didn’t move, just nodded and picked up
his glass. “Believe me,” he said, “I know what it feels like to
know your mate, but not be able to have her.” Brigg heard pain in
Sam’s voice and turned to witness the same on his face. Sam raised
his glass in a mock salute, “Let me tell you this, demon. If she is
your mate, you’d better be sure before you let her go. Because the
memory of her voice and her sweet scent will haunt you forever.”
Sam emptied his glass in one mouthful and stood up. He ground his
teeth and then lifted his chin. “And no woman beside her will ever
be enough.”

Brigg watched Sam leave the big dining room,
his strides were full of confidence and poise, but now his
shoulders sagged in a way that spoke of defeat. When the Ram closed
the large door, Brigg blew out a breath. That had been painful to
see. Sam had clearly spoken from experience, and Brigg wondered if
he could survive that kind of torment.

The image of Cally in a shower filled his
mind again. His cock gave a throb of need and he turned and left
the dining room. He strode through the front door and stormed off
into the woods. He had to get space, or he would do something truly
stupid.

She is human, Brigg, he told himself. Not
for you…

Cally lay back on the large soft bed and
contemplated the hours since she had wakened in Brigg’s cabin. She
was exhausted, but she couldn’t seem to turn her mind from Brigg
and how much he affected her. He had rescued her, to his own
detriment. He was so grumpy and aggressive, he had a temper that
snapped at the slightest things, but he never hurt her. She wasn’t
even that scared of him, though she thought most people would be.
He was covered in fur and he was a demon, but even so, Cally liked
him. She was pining for him right now.

What was it about him that drew her so?

She climbed off the bed and wandered to the
window. The moon shone a silver light through the glass, making her
feel a little cold. Loneliness was a heavy pulse in her blood. She
had never had much company before, and spending so much time with
Brigg had made the sudden silence seem even more…silent. Her ears
rang and her mind raced with thoughts that she couldn’t
control.

When she was in the shower she had began to
wonder how Briggs hands would feel on her, what his mouth would
taste like, until her skin had popped out with goose-bumps and her
breathing had gone tight. She hadn’t been able to shake those
images, her mind playing with them, adding to them, until she felt
as if she wanted to crawl out of her own skin. She was a mess, over
a demon who thought she was a nuisance.

Cally turned and looked at the bedroom door.
The library was just down the stairs, and all of those books held
her interest. The beautiful room downstairs was filled with books
about demon origins, and historical documents, and she wondered if
one of the books held the secret to what exactly she was.

Brigg had called her a human, as if the
words tasted bad on his tongue, she hated that word, but her mother
had spat demon at her so many times, Cally had hated that word too.
But she was neither. Well, at least not fully. She ran her hand
over the bumps on her head—her horns—and a shiver of excitement ran
through her. She had never seen them fully grown, her mother had
made sure that they had been filed down since the day she was born.
The painful procedure was done frequently, and this was the longest
time she had gone without it. Cally was desperate to know what they
looked like. It was like never looking in the mirror and knowing
your own eye colour.

She scooped up the two books she had already
devoured and walked quietly to the library. The castle was eerily
quiet. The massive halls, decorated in sumptuous papers and heavy
drapes, lacked soul. The castle was perfect, with not one thing out
of place, but Cally sensed that there was something missing. She
hurried towards the library, trying not to make a sound. It was
very late, and she was sure she was the only person awake at this
hour.

Oh, to have the run of a fantastic library,
and no mother to screech in her ear! Cally now understood what
bliss was.

* * * *

Brigg walked back to the castle and opened
the heavy wooden door. He was utterly shattered. His muscles burned
from running but his mind was still filled with Cally. No matter
how hard or fast he had run, he couldn’t clear her from his
thoughts. He had waited until he was sure she was asleep before he
came back.

What was he going to do tomorrow? Lust was
so heavy in his body, it burned and urged him—even when she was
nowhere near.

The moment his feet set down in the hallway,
Briggs attention was drawn to the library. A dull, but cozy light
shone out from the gap around the door and Cally’s scent hit him
hard. She was still up? Cant a demon catch a break? His feet took
him to the library door with no conscious thought other than…

Mine.

His heart-rate picked up and throbbed in his
ears. He grabbed the door handle and yanked the heavy dark oak
back. Cally sat in the middle of the room on a large leather chair,
on her lap sat a big, leather-bound book. Clearly startled by his
entrance, she jumped a little.

“Brigg!” Her eyes wide, she watched him as
he stood in the doorway. He was unable to move, struck dumb by the
image she made sitting the chair, holding the big book—looking all
sleepy and sweet. “Are you ok?” She frowned and then set the book
aside. She dropped her elegant legs to the floor and stood up. She
was wearing his shirt, the one that he had loaned to her, but she
no longer had the baggy trousers on—and Brigg couldn’t look away
from the creamy flesh on display.

She had beautiful, shapely, feminine legs,
and as she moved closer, he could see that her skin was smooth.
Fuck!
He wanted to taste her. His head pounded and his chest
drew tight. She was a vision, an image plucked right from his
dreams. Many a time—before the curse—he had dreamed of such a
beauty being his. She would look at him with a soft expression,
just as Cally did right now. And he would take her in all the ways
he craved. But he was no longer that young Rain Demon, the young
demon with smooth skin and a face as human as hers. He was a beast,
an ugly monster who didn’t deserve the look of interest Cally was
flashing right now. He let out a low growl. Cally stopped moving,
her eyes flaring wide.

That’s it, human, be scared of the
Beast.

“What are you doing awake?” The growl still
sat in his voice when he spoke, and he wasn’t surprised to see
Cally swallow visibly.

“I-I couldn’t sleep.” She took another slow
step in Briggs direction, all the while she watched him as if he
might run, or attack. Brigg stayed perfectly still, aware that the
moment he allowed his body to move, it would go in her direction.
Everything inside him homed in on the Princess. The Beast, the Rain
Demon—it all focused on Cally and her bare flesh and bright eyes.
The closer she got, the harder his beast was to control.

“Stop, Human.” He spoke between gritted
teeth. She didn’t stop. “I said stop!” He bellowed. She paused, but
not for long. She looked at his tight grip on the door handle and
moved closer.

Did she trust his control? Stupid Cally.

“Don’t call me that.” Cally said as she
shook her head gently. Her dark tresses fell over her shoulder and
hung down her chest, still slightly damp from her shower. One stray
lock curled up and touched her chin. Brigg ground his teeth
again.

What was she doing goading a beast?

“Call you what?” The temptation to enter
into this dance was almost too much. He wouldn’t move, couldn’t
move, but he could talk—barely. He knew that even doing that was
dangerous.

“Human. I don’t like the way you say it.”
She purred the words and gave a cute little pout, the sound and
sight stroked between his legs and made his cock stand hard. She
stopped in front of him and looked up. Their eyes met and Brigg
could have sworn someone had shoved his finger into a light switch.
Electricity pulsed all over him, it whipped at every nerve ending,
sending bolts of molten blood to his cock. His balls drew up tight
and a shiver of desperation flew up his spine.

Breathe, Brigg. Breathe.

“You are a human. I don’t like humans.” The
words had to be forced through his dry mouth. How, in just two
days, had she made that concept feel so wrong?

Her brow creased, and something flickered
across her eyes. He might not like humans, but he apparently was
very—very—fucking attracted to this one. She watched him for a long
time. The torture of her gaze was like a hot barb to his skin, he
wanted to pull away, but he couldn’t. The contact between them was
so strong, it hurt.

“You like me, though?” She didn’t sound
sure. She sounded innocent and sweet, and Brigg found himself
nodding when all his common sense told him to say no. She might be
his mate. For whatever fucked-up reason he had been fated to a
human—but he didn’t need to act upon it. …But as his body continued
to heat and react to her, he wondered what control he had left.

Just shoot me now… Remember, she’s your way
free from this curse…

Her hand came up to his face. He stiffened.
And when she chewed her lip, Briggs eyes snagged on the action. Her
palm settled on his cheek and his eyes slid closed under the
wonderful weight of pleasure.

“So soft…” she crooned and Brigg shuddered.
Her fingers buried into his fur and touched the skin beneath. He
pushed his cheek further into her wonderful touch and almost
groaned. Her hand slid up a little, and moved to his neck. He
opened his eyes and was shocked by the way she looked at him. There
was no pity, no judgemental mocking—just intrigue and…desire?

Her eyes twinkled in the lamplight, her damp
mouth sparkled and attracted his gaze. She rolled her bottom lip in
between her teeth and moved a little closer.

So confident that I won’t attack?

Fuck!
He was burning up. His hand
gripped the door handle until he was sure he would snap the handle
off. His breathing had ceased, but his heart still beat volcanic
blood all through him. Her hand slid low around the collar of his
shirt. Brigg growled. The fragile leash he had over his beast was
frayed. The last strings of control were seconds from snapping.

“Don’t do that, Princess,” he managed.

She looked into his eyes and, dammit, there
was no fear. She stayed her hand, but didn’t remove it.

“Do you not like this, Brigg?” She creased
her brow, “Because I do.” When had Cally ever sounded so sexy? She
purred a quiet whisper that was so sensual, so sultry, Brigg
couldn’t answer. Her blue eyes flicked over his face. He could see
her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. “Would you like to
touch me?”

Ah, Jesus!
He closed his eyes as his
need charged through his body. Cally didn’t move, but he heard a
hitch in her breathing.

“I understand if you don’t, Brigg. I’m not
one of your females.” He opened his eyes and hated the look of hurt
that shone in her fast-dimming gaze. He felt her hand begin to drop
away, and he reached up and held her hand to his neck. She looked
startled, but she didn’t try to pull away—and for a long moment
they locked eyes. Power arced between them. Heat fizzled in his
veins. Everything fell away, except Cally and the hot ache in his
groin.

“I want to touch you, Cally.” His voice was
deep, loud in the quiet room, but even still, he heard her
breathing stutter. Her cheeks flared with a little red blush and
her mouth opened slightly. Did she really desire him?

“Then do it, Brigg,” she whispered. “I want
to feel your hands on me.” She reached behind him and pried his
fist from the door handle and lifted it to her face. The moment his
palm connected with her smooth, cool, skin his whole control
crumbled. The beast roared inside his mind and his muscles
tensed.